At least for now. With the realization that the mountains will be getting colder as the winter arrives, I made a decision to head to Cuzco and eventually Macchu Piccu to get higher than I have ever been in my life (I think the elevation is over 11,000 feet). The only problem is that I will have to deal with the end of the rainy season. Looks like my Kona will get a little muddy.
With that said, I made plans to get to Cuzco via bus. I made plans with a tour agency that was friendly with the hostel that I was staying at. Upon finalizing the plans, I realized that it was time to pay and that I was low on cash. Not a problem, I thought, because there is an abundance of ATM machines in Lima, especially where I was staying.
What I was not counting on was that Peruvian ATMs dispense a maximum amount of cash that is much lower than US ATM machines. I needed cash for the bus fare, a prepayment for the hostel in Cuzco and the payment for the hostel here in Lima. I went to one bank and had a problem because of the money shuffle from one account to another. I went to another bank and was able to get enough for the current hostel, so I tried to make another immediate withdrawal at the same machine. Bad move. That triggered a warning to my credit union´s fraud division and they put my account on code orange. I tried to go to another bank and make a withdrawal and that put my account on code red and in effect a hold on my card.
The current hostel needed to be paid in soles, but the travel agency did allow Amex. But like in most every other foreign countries, paying with Amex meant an extra surcharge to cover the Amex merchant fees. I had to bite the bullet and learn a lesson that I forgot a long time ago - make sure there´s enough cash in the account for daily transactions. This also put a snag in my dinner plans of going cheap - after paying the hostel, I only had 11 soles and change left in pocket until I figured out the money situation. Dinner was ahead of me, but I was not worried. At least I can get a cheap sandwhich with the change I had and everything would work itself out in the morning.
While I was taking my sieste at my hosel later that day, I did get worried because the next day was a Sunday, so if traditional banking hours still held true, I may not be able to sort out this money thing until Monday... two days later. While I was ruminating my situation, I turned on the TV and saw that the NCAA Kentucky vs Louisville game was just starting, to be followed by the OSU vs Kansas game. Nice, I can delay any decisions until after the games.
The first game was interesting to watch, I was about to leave during the early part of the second half when it looked like Kentucky was about to run away with the game - I can get something to eat and return in time to catch most or all of the OSU game. Before I left the room, Louisville made the game interesting again and I stayed. The OSU game started out great, but well, we all know what happened. I just wish I ate something before the game because as OSU started sucking, I started to get really hungry and as a result, started to get really cranky and was screaming foul words towards those f*ing amateurs from Columbus.
With just a few seconds left in the game, I got fed up and needed to get fed with real food. I thought that since I had little cash, I should save it for a cheap meal the next day. If I have to use a credit card for dinner, I should go deep and if I´m gonna go deep, I should really go deep - I put on my paisley dress shirt, black jeans, Merril shoes and went to Astrid & Gaston http://www.astridygaston.com/web/cartacategoria.php?pidscw=2&pidpsp=21&pidpag=3646, a top 50 restaurant on someone´s list.
I gotta say, I was impressed. It does live up to its reputation as a world-class restaurant. Very fine-dining, white tablecloth type of restaurant. Sitting at the bar, I ordered a cocktail - pisco with fernet, vermouth, cranberry and zuma (juice) de orange and limon. pretty good - I didn´t even taste the Fernet (it was not Branca).
First dish was causa - potato salad that was mashed with butter beans and deep-fried, then topped with Peruvian-pickled fish and a couple sauces, slivers of peppers, onions and avacado and a very soft-boiled egg (see the orb in the lower left corner of this picture).
Second dish was a tough choice - I settled on the famous Peruvian dish called cuy - that´s guinea pig to us Americans. Cuy was something that didn´t tickle my interest too much because of reports that it just tastes like chicken, but if I was gonna try it, I might as well try it by a famous chef. He prepared it two ways: roasted with crispy skin and also ground up into a crsipy spring roll, served with sauces and potato stew (interestingly enough served in a mini-Le Cruset pot... not pictured). I gotta say that it was delicious... and it did taste like chicken, if a little less fatty, but still tender and moist. The little guy was not served whole, though, as the Lonely Planet warned. All in all, I don´t think that I would order or crave it in the future.
Though it was almost midnight, I was still actually hungry and since I was going deep, I decided to get dessert - the first time since arriving in Lima. What I chose was canelloni served with a peanut cream mousse and a sprinkle of Peruvian chili pepper bits and honey ice cream. Very tasty!
Today, I woke up and was able to get in contact with my credit union. They did, in fact, put a hold on my card because of multiple foreign ATM attempts. The system works! Unfortunately, they failed to tell me that they put a hold on my account and I had to chat with them online to sort it all out.
Soon after, I went to the ATM machine to get some soles and was on my way to get some lunch. I went to the southern neighborhood called Barranca to get some ceviche via my bike. En route, I passed a church service:
I found a recommended restaurant and took a look at the menu. They had eight different kinds of ceviche. Paralyzed with indecision, I just asked for the mixto - flounder, octopus, calarmari, conch and even some bits of lobster! My main course was my first accidental order. Lemme explain - since my Spanish skills are still very sub-par, I just look at the menu and focus on words that I know and hope that what I get is tasty.
Just like in Thailand, even when an order is a fail, it´s still gonna be pretty good... it just won´t be what I expected. This time, I ordered fried rice with fish. There are many Chinese restaurants in Peru, so much so that it has become a staple on all menus. The fried rice was good - it had all the ingredients that I would expect in fried rice: rice, egg, scallions, soy sauce and some chili peppers. Not bad, though it wasn´t something I would have ordered if I paid attention.
Since it was my last day in Lima and it was Sunday Funday... or since I´m in a Spanish-zone, Gringo Domingo (at least that is what I´m gonna call the day for now on), I decided to get a beer by the sea. And a pisco sour... and another pisco sour. Most places will serve some crunchy corn kernels as a snack while drinking. Usually, the kernels are huge, think double the size of what we have in America. At this place, the kernels were about the size of American maize, if just a bit longer than what we know:
by the way, the spoon is baby-sized
while I was finishing my last pisco, the sunset again
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